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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 41:2/3 (2014) ► pp.219–245

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Medieval Commentators on the Notion ‘persona agentis’ in Priscian’s Syntactic Theory

 | University of Copenhagen
Published online: 10 November 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.41.2-3.02fre
Summary
Medieval syntactic analysis ranges from simple word order parsing in prescriptive grammars to sophisticated discussions of first and secondary constructibles in modistic, dependency grammars. What combines these two levels is found in Priscian‘s use of actants: (1) persona agentis (= Apollonius’ ‘understood nominative’), (2) verb phrase, and (3) persona patientis, in this paradigmatic word order, corresponding to an underlying structure with an active verb, e.g., audio te “I hear you” corresponding to audieris a me “You are heard by me”, seruio tibi “I am a servant to you”, seruieris a me “You are served by me”. In medieval understanding, more complex sentences are reducible / convertible to such active / passive constructions, if one includes their particular notions of government, where verbs govern the nominative and / or oblique cases, always in separate dyadic combinations, e.g., “I hear”, “hear you”.
Résumé
L‘analyse syntaxique médiévale est très ouverte, allant d‘une analyse élémentaire et pratique de l‘ordre des mots jusqu‘aux débats très sophistiqués des grammairiens modistes de la dépendance sur les relations entre le premier et le deuxième constructible. L‘utilisation par Priscien d‘un modèle actantiel crée un pont entre l‘analyse grammaticale élémentaire et une théorie syntaxique très fine. Le modèle actantiel réduit les éléments principaux de la phrase à: (1) une persona agentis = sujet dans la construction active (nominatif implicite chez Apollonius Dyscolus), (2) un verbe, et enfin éventuellement (3) une persona patientis régie par un verbe transitif dans une forme active par exemple audio te “je t‘écoute” correspondant à audieris a me “tu es écouté par moi”, ou servio tibi “je suis ton serviteur” qui correspond à servieris a me “tu es servi par moi”. Toute autre phrase plus complexe peut se réduire à une combinaison de (1) avec (2) et de (2) avec (3) ou même à une phrase contenant à la fois (1), (2) et (3), l‘analyse étant toujours binaire, tout comme dans la discussion médiévale de savoir comment le verbe régit les autres membres de la phrase en combinaisons binaires indépendantes et limitées.
Zusammenfassung
Unter den syntaktischen Analysen des Mittelalters findet man ein breites Spektrum vor: von ganz elementaren, praktischen Wortfolgezergliederungen bis zu anspruchsvollen Auseinandersetzungen über primum et secundum constructibile der modistischen Dependenzgrammatik. Die Aktantenanalyse, die schon von Apollonius Dyscolus und Priscian verwendet war, verbindet die ganz einfache und elementare Analyse der einzelnen Satzglieder mit hochentwickelten syntaktischen Theorien. In dem Aktantenmodell sind die Hauptglieder (1) persona agentis = Subjekt im aktiven Satz (= implicit Nominativ bei Apollonius Dyscolus), (2) das Verb, und darüber hinaus (3) persona patientis von einem transitiven Verb im Aktiv regiert, in der normativen Wortfolge (1), (2), (3). Darüber hinaus folgen andere Kasus in anderen Kombinationen, wie zum Beispiel in audio te “Ich höre dich” gegenüber audieris a me “Du wirst von mir gehört”, seruio tibi “Ich diene dir”, seruieris a me “Du wirst von mir bedient”, und andere bzw. passive / aktive Konstruktionen. Alle übrigen Satzglieder in mehr komplizierten Sätzen lassen sich in Kombinationen von (1) in (2) und (2) in (3) konvertieren. Die Analyse von regierenden und regierten Satzgliedern ist immer binär, aber bei den Konvertierungsmöglichkeiten in der Aktantenanalyse ist es möglich, komplizierte Satzstrukturen zu erklären.
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